Port Workers Suspend Strike at Argentina Grains Hub

Posted by Michelle Howard

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

A strike by port workers at Rosario, Argentina's biggest agricultural export hub, has been suspended, thanks to a government attempt to resolve a disagreement over wage hikes, a local business group said.

The protest, which was holding up 126 grains ships and affecting all terminals at the hub's ports of Timbues, Puerto General San Martin and San Lorenzo, had started on Monday.

The South American country is the world's third-biggest exporter of soybeans and corn, and about 80 percent of its shipments leave from Rosario.

"We have agreed a truce (to negotiate)," said Guillermo Wade, president of the Port and Maritime Activities Chamber.

Labor protests are common in Argentina's soy belt, where powerful unions and companies often fight over the spoils of multimillion-dollar exports.

"The working day should occur normally," said Argentine cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich.